


Missed Connections

by phoenixwritings



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Byun Baekhyun is a Little Shit, Fluff and Crack, Jongdae is the perfect wingman, Kai is perfect as usual, M/M, Sehun is a adorable, and lowkey done w chenbaek's shit, and this is definitely just mostly crack, but more crack than fluff; but its there !!!, chansoo's glorious as ever, lmao this was fun to write, practically mom n dad to sehun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-02-10
Packaged: 2019-03-16 06:11:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13630314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenixwritings/pseuds/phoenixwritings
Summary: It was all a joke, or at least that’s what he assumed it to be. A joke, that Sehun fed into at the hands of a very enthusiastic Baekhyun.alternatively, Sehun is trying to get a guy (Jongin)'s number without directly asking him, so he turns to the internet... craigslist to be exact.  and Sehun's pretty sure he needs new friends.





	Missed Connections

**Author's Note:**

> I just learned that Missed Connections was a thing??? and it's honestly so amusing?? so of course, I had to write about it?? lmao I'm sorry, this is mostly crack and was written in a hour on a whim. enjoy!!!

It was all a joke, or at least that’s what he assumed it to be. A joke, that Sehun fed into at the hands of a very enthusiastic Baekhyun, who had the same amused glint in his eyes as he did the night they almost got arrested by the campus police — another story for another day. He should've known better than to confide in the older male for something as stupid as a cafe crush on some guy he'd only seen a handful of times, but never spoke to. Baekhyun always seemed to make it his goal to ensure life wasn’t easy to live for Sehun; or at the least, boring.

 

“Oh, _c’mon_ _man_ , if you **really** wanted to find out who that guy was, you wouldn’t have let him walk away without gathering enough balls to ask him for his number! So, really, when you put it into perspective, it’s all your fault.” He started, moving his hands animatedly around as if to prove his point (and surely catching the attention of a few of the restaurant goers; his voice was definitely not a inside voice, either). “So, do what any sane person does and post a ad in the ‘ ** _Missed Connection_** ’ page of Craigslist. You never know the wondrous ways of the internet, and it wouldn’t kill you to try.”

  


Upon returning to their shared apartment that night with Chanyeol and Kyungsoo, admittedly after a few drinks with their circle of friends, Sehun decided to give Baekhyun's idea a chance.

Did he have any actual expectations from posting on a page, seeking the name of a male who he had seen only a handful of times at the campus’ local cafe? Not really, he only expected spam from horny middle aged men seeking the _comfort_ of a younger man. But, he wouldn’t let it get to him; he could always troll people in his downtime if he were bored enough. Or, as he could practically hear Baekhyun’s shrill voice in the back of his mind, grow a pair and approach the male in the cafe.

He sat at the kitchen counter with his laptop out, Kyungsoo and Chanyeol happily occupying the couch in the form of a human knott; flicking through the newest additions to Netflix and chatting amongst themselves before it was like they suddenly remembered the younger male sat at the counter.

 

“What’re you doing, hunnie? Don’t you want to come watch a movie with us? We can watch Civil War!” Chanyeol said, his words muffled by Kyungsoo’s thick sweater.

 

“Craigslist.” Sehun answered simply, not giving any explanation at all; his eyes trained on the screen and typing away.

 

“Craigslist?” now it was Kyungsoo, who shot right up from where he was laying ontop of Chanyeol, looking down at the latter who shared an equally confused look. “What are you looking for on Craigslist? — are you moving out?”

 

That earned a short and dull chuckle from the youngest male, hardly sparing a glance over his shoulder at the human pretzel that were his friends. “Me, move out? Right, as if I, a student and a part-time waiter, has enough money to move out.” he answered, shooting Kyungsoo and playful glare before redirecting his attention back to the screen. He wasn’t at all satisfied with what he wrote, erasing most of it before trying again.

 

“Then why are you on craigslist? I mean, only broke students go on there to look for cheap housing options or old men looking for a fun time.” Kyungsoo answered, showing clear that he might’ve been one of the few of them who had one drink more than they normally had. “Oh god — please tell me you aren’t looking to offer up _services_ to dirty older men?” Yeah, he might’ve been a little drunk; and Sehun ignored his laughter.

 

After twenty more minutes of writing, erasing and repeating, Sehun finally settled on the easiest and simplest form of letting the Mystery Guy know he was talking to him, and not some random person.. Although, he technically was a random person, wasn’t he? Sehun was buzzed, confident, and highly amused; and it was now that he knew he had to post it before he backed out of it.

  
  


**Feb. 9th: CAFE LUNA - m4m:**

 

_I’ve seen you at the same table by the window for the past six friday’s at Luna’s. Always reading your book, or writing; occasionally you’ll have friends join you, but for the most part you usually sit alone. I usually sit in the booth by the kitchen doors, and nine out of ten times, I have a friend with me who likes to scream inside of the restaurant — and his boyfriend isn’t much better, constantly telling him to be quiet. They’re the reason for the ‘this is why we can’t have nice things!” meme, I’m convinced. if you are the guy who sits at the table by the window, and know what I’m talking about; please respond to this with the house drink so I know it’s you._

 

_P.s, I only wanted your name; but I’d also love to buy you a coffee, now that I think about it._

_P.s.s, I apologize for my friends._

 

_Your friendly neighborhood cafe goer, Sehun._

  


He hit the publication button, and gave a satisfied grin to himself as it loaded the page before notifying him seconds later it had been posted. It wasn’t all that serious, yet, it made him laugh. And if it made him laugh, hopefully whoever saw it would get a laugh from it too; and maybe, if the internet was as wonderful as it could be, the Mystery Guy would find it.

 

* * *

 

 

Four days went by, and Sehun had completely forgotten about posting the ad on Craigslist. Four days, and he hadn’t seen the Mystery Guy in the cafe. Four days and three hours since Baekhyun last mentioned the guy; but of course, that didn’t last five seconds when Baekhyun and Jongdae came bounding into the Cafe; the latter being strung along by the wrist by Baekhyun who looked determined. Sehun had to admit right then and there, he had never seen such a look of pure awe and annoyance etched into Jongdae’s face. He couldn’t even greet them, or ask Jongdae what was wrong before Baekhyun shouted.

 

“JONGDAE HAS A CLASS WITH THE HOT MYSTERY GUY YOU’RE FALLING IN LOVE WITH.” he shouted dramatically, throwing himself to sit on the opposite side of the booth to Sehun.

 

It took the younger to realize what he was told, only registering it when Jongdae with sat diagonally from him. “Wait, what?”

 

“ _Ohmygod_ — Jongdae, my incredibly loving boyfriend here, has a class with the hot Mystery Guy.” Baekhyun said slower, and using his normal tone. Sehun only shot him a glare for just the way Baekhyun said it, as if he hadn’t heard him shout it five seconds prior.

 

“And you’re only just now informing us of this?” He asked, looking at the male across from him with raised brows in question.

 

“Hey! I don’t stare the guy down when he’s here, so how the hell would I have known it was him?”  Jongdae said with his signature whine accompanying his words. “And you should be thanking Baekhyun for being clingy and waiting outside the lecture hall for an hour — if he hadn’t been there to point him out, you wouldn’t be getting this intel.” he huffed and pausing for a second with a small smile creeping up on his lips.

 

Sehun narrowed his eyes and tilted his head at the smile he’d seen many times before. Just like the glint Baekhyun often had in his eyes, this smile was a tell-tale sign that there was more to what he was saying.

 

“Baekhyun might have mentioned.. Or, _yelled at him_ to check craigslist.”

 

And just like that, Sehun was almost certain that his heart stopped. Except, if it had, he would’ve been saved from the immense embarrassment he felt surging through his entire being in that moment. Despite his calm composure and ability to keep a straight face, Sehun was royally embarrassed. He forgot all about it, however it seemed Baekhyun didn’t.

 

“How the hell did you know I posted on craigslist?” he asked with a incredulous tone, eyeing Baekhyun who was beaming proudly. He showed no signs of regret, and Sehun wanted to kick him for it.

 

“Uh, hello, do you forget who you live with? Chanyeol told me because apparently Kyungsoo was having a mild heart attack thinking you were going to be offering your _services_ up to older men on craigslist.” Baekhyun answered, earning a loud and sudden laugh from Jongdae, who apparently hadn’t been filled in on that bit based off the sideways look he threw at Baekhyun.

 

Yeah, Sehun was almost positive that he needed new friends. He laid his forehead against the cool table, his arms coming to guard his face and he let out a deep sigh (along with a mixture of swear words). His complaining was drowned out by his friends’ laughter, who were clearly amused by the younger’s embarrassment.

 

No more than five minutes passed when the bell above the door tinged, signaling someone either entering or leaving; and Sehun wouldn’t have questioned a thing if Jongdae and Baekhyun’s laughter hadn’t subsided. That was the first thing that seemed off, and was only confirmed through a sharp kick to his shin (granted by Baekhyun).

 

“Don’t look now, but Mystery Guy is here.”

 

He shouldn’t have looked. No, if he had any pride left in him, he wouldn’t have lifted his head and turned it so fast. Clearly, he didn’t, because it took him five seconds flat to turn in the direction of the door, eyes immediately landing on the mystery guy, who was scanning the cafe. Sehun swore he held his breath when the male’s eyes scanned past him for a second before turning and moving to his usual spot. Sehun never ducked down so fast, or hard in his life; hiding his face again.

The entire time, two hours and twenty minutes, that they were there at their table, did Sehun not dare to raise his head. He felt strange and anxious. Baekhyun and Jongdae’s relentless teasing didn’t help anything, and at this point, he was certain he needed new friends. They relayed messages to him of what was happening:

 

“He’s reading that ratty book again.” (Jongdae sounded like he wanted to go home, or cry. Probably both, because so far nothing interesting seemed to be happening. ' _what were we supposed to be doing again? stalking this poor guy?_ ' )

“He just got coffee. I bet you want to know what he orders, don’t you Hunnie?” (Baekhyun teased in a sickly sweet tone that made Sehun want to die.)

"He seems like a real charmer, he keeps making the hot waitress laugh — _Ow! What was that for?_ " (Jongdae smacked Baekhyun.)

“He’s now on his laptop.” (Both said unceremoniously, like they were watching the same scene of a movie for the ninth time in a row.)

 

Sehun was sure the mention of a laptop was used as a way to catch his attention, and it worked. He raised his eyes slightly, glaring at Jongdae, who honestly couldn’t seem anymore amused than he already was. It didn’t help his anxiety one bit, and he couldn’t just sit there and hear the relayed messages of what the male was doing anymore. He shouldn’t have told Baekhyun about his notice of the guy, he definitely shouldn’t have taken Baekhyun’s advice. And, he definitely wished that Baekhyun hadn’t exposed him to the other male across the cafe, who was — as far as Sehun secretly hoped — oblivious to everything.

He grabbed his bag, shoving his phone in his pocket and pushing the check to the couple across from him. “You assholes get to pay the tab, because I’m not sitting here anymore with you.” he might’ve been acting childish, but damnit, if he didn’t have the courage to go up and ask the male for his name and number, he wasn’t going to torture himself with sitting there knowing he could just as easily do just that. Adding the fact of his two best friend’s acting like his annoying older brothers and embarrassing him, he would rather take the chance and run while he could.

* * *

 

For a nearly a week since Baekhyun decided to tell Mystery Guy to check craigslist, Sehun avoided the cafe like it was ridden with the plague. He didn’t want to take a chance, and embarrass himself further than what he friends already had. Despite knowing that logically, there was a slim chance of the guy ever finding the ad on craigslist, he still didn’t want to take a chance. And when the sixth day rolled in, it was Chanyeol and Kyungsoo who stepped in (Baekhyun might’ve mentioned that Sehun was avoiding him) and began to try to convince Sehun that he was just being too shy and overthinking the situation.

 

Sat on the living room couch, flicking through netflix with his laptop open next to him and various textbooks sprawled out on the floor in front of him, Sehun not once took his attention off the screen to pay any mind to the two men standing in the hallway entrance. Not until Kyungsoo moved, taking the remote out of Sehun’s hands and demanding his attention by just diving into the topic.

 

“Look, you don’t know this guy, right? Jongdae has a class with him, and Baekhyun just yelled at him —”

 

“Or someone.” Chanyeol added after cutting Kyungsoo off, giving a sheepish grin at the eyeroll his small action got out of his boyfriend.

 

“— to check craigslist. He didn’t say what to look for, just for him — _them_ to check it out.” Kyungsoo repeated all the information that he knew, watching Sehun closely. Very much like a parent attempting to catch the child in a lie. — Kyungsoo couldn’t see one. “I personally can’t see why you’re making this a huge deal and avoiding a place you really like, in favor of saving face. You wanted him to see this ad, or hoped he would, or else you wouldn’t have published it. And you can’t use the ‘I was drunk’ excuse, because I know you weren’t drunk.” Kyungsoo finished with a soft sigh and shake of his head, smiling softly nonetheless though. He just really wished Sehun wasn’t so shy, sometimes. It wasn’t a crime, was it? To want the best for your friend, even if you thought they were blowing it out of proportion. Kyungsoo didn’t, and neither did Chanyeol.

 

“If he finds it and responds, what’re you going to do? Just ignore it? — better yet, what if he gets the courage to approach you on the slim chance of assuming it was you or dumb and dumber? You’re just going to act like you don’t see him?”

 

Sehun laughed at Chanyeol, covering his face with his hands. He truly understood where they were coming at, and he also understood that he was making this bigger than it really was. Being shy and embarrassed was one thing, but ignoring Jongdae and Baekhyun was another — entirely childish thing. He sighed, shaking his head and removed his hands from his face. “I wouldn’t ignore him, and I’d definitely tell him it wasn’t dumb and dumber who posted the ad.” he clarified, about to speak again when Kyungsoo’s phone buzzed, signaling a text.

 

“Baekhyun says check craigslist, “like, yesterday”.” Kyungsoo read the text aloud, looking at Sehun with raised brows. Chanyeol looked like he wanted to check craigslist _for_ Sehun, seemingly more excited then Sehun (who was definitely panicking).

 

It took a solid minute for Sehun to gather the strength to pick up his laptop, and two minutes for him to pull up the Missed Connections section ~~as if he didn't have it bookmarked already~~. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to look for, therefore, he just slowly scrolled down the first page. Nothing caught his attention, so he went to the next. The further he scrolled, the more anxious he got. The more anxious he got, the more he was deciding he didn't want to know what he was supposed to be looking for. Until the fourth from the very bottom title caught his attention, reading:

 

**RE: Feb. 9th: CAFE LUNA - m4m**. 

 

Sehun's breath hitched in his throat, and for a minute, he felt like he did when he got his university acceptance letter; uncertainty. It could either be good, or nothing but let downs. 

He left the cursor hover the title for a minute before mentally saying _fuck it_ , and clicking it.

 

**RE: Feb. 9th: CAFE LUNA - m4m** . 

 

_honey chamomile tea latte_

 

_Are formal introductions important when it comes to an almost anonymous ad? I’ve been unable to decide — I typed that and deleted it at least five times, now. Hello, I mean, is what I wrote. I would have never thought to check craigslist, for any reason other than when I was looking for a roommate last semester, but a guy with pink hair pointed at me as I was coming out of a morning lecture and rather loudly screamed for me to check craigslist. And, well, clearly a voice like his can’t go unnoticed; he yells a lot at Luna’s. So, here I am, responding. I think I might have a idea of who you are, and if I’m correct, then you must be the much calmer of the three. Don’t get me wrong, your friends have given me many laughs, but I only really took notice of you because you’re the opposite to them. It’s kinda nice._

 

_P.s, My name’s Jongin._

_P.s.s, And I’d love to have a drink with you.. Maybe meet your friends at a later date._

  


Sehun must’ve zoned out while reading the reply, because the next thing he remembered was Kyungsoo lightly popping him on the forehead, saying, “Earth to Sehun, did we lose you?” with a curious tone.

He was smiling like a idiot. Sehun could feel the heat in his cheeks, that also ached from how big he was smiling. All previous anxieties melted into nothing, only to be replaced by the surge of energy flowing through him. He hardly remembered that Kyungsoo and Chanyeol were still in the room, looking at them, and he could’ve sworn they were looking at him like proud parents.

 

“Shut up.” He told them laughing and happily waving them dismissively, although they didn’t speak a word as they left. Their smiles were enough to make him want to puke.

 

* * *

 

 

Nerves were running high as Sehun stood outside the small cafe. He decided that morning, he wasn’t going to chicken out. He was going to go into the cafe, take his normal table, and if the mystery guy — Jongin, showed up, he would approach him. Making sure first that he wouldn’t have any distractions, namely Jongdae or Baekhyun there to discourage him, he didn’t tell them his plan. He was going to finally grow a pair and go in completely alone.

 

Rubbing his palms over his jeans, he took a deep breath and opened the door. The warm and welcoming aroma of food and coffee hitting his nostrils as soon as he stepped in, allowing the door to slowly shut behind him. He immediately looked in the direction of his usual table, seeing no Baekhyun or Jongdae. That was a good sign. They weren’t there, and they couldn’t embarrass him or —

 

“Sehun?” A unfamiliar and husk voice called out his name clearly among the soft chattering of the regular flow of conversations, and Sehun felt a unfamiliar warmness wash over him.

 

He turned in the direction of it, laying eyes on who he thought had to be one of the most beautiful human’s he had ever seen; Jongin. He couldn’t help his knees that clinked together like silverware as he approached the male’s table, a sincere and shy smile painting his lips.

 

“Jongin, right?” He was surprised his voice came out as steady as it did, although he just really felt like he had a thousand bees inside of him at the moment. He hoped he only seemed as calm as his voice, holding his hand out confidently. “It’s.. It’s nice to uh, finally meet you.”

 

First meetings were usually terribly awkward, filled with conversational topics that neither really were interested in. _Usually_. Not with Jongin, it wasn’t, though. Sehun learned pretty quickly with the other, that not having a filter between your brain and mouth wasn’t such a bad thing; both of them starting one conversation, and then breaking off into five more. It came easily, and even when there was a pause in the conversation, it was a comfortable silence. Hours passed and the pair spoke like they had known each other years. It made Sehun wonder why the hell hadn’t he ever got the courage to talk to the other sooner? It seemed like a shame to him that he wasted time that could’ve been spent talking about their mutual liking for horrible horror movies and infomercials, and their dislike for the cold weather.

 

The bell above the door went off many times since they started talking, and not once did they seem to care for it — until a shrill voice gasped, followed by a, “ _oh, fuck! — shit, i’m sorry._ ” once Baekhyun spotted where Sehun was, and who he was talking to; apologizing to the other customers, and willing letting himself be dragged by Jongdae to their usual table.

 

Sehun only gave a sideways glance to his friends, shaking his head and closing his eyes. Turning to face Jongin and opening his eyes; he was met with Jongin’s bright smile and crescent moon smiling eyes. He felt the need to apologize for his friends, but Jongin’s smile told him he didn’t mind.. And if he looked longer, he would’ve been able to see how Jongin absolutely adored how bashful Sehun seemed.

 

It was a good night, and Sehun would have to remember to thank Baekhyun for his brilliant idea later. 

**Author's Note:**

> i'm currently working on a update to He's Dreaming, and i decided to take a wee break and let my mind wander; thus, this crack-filled drabble happened. I'm trash, goodbye.


End file.
